Born in Merced, California, Mark traveled extensively with his military family. In his youth he lived in all but a few of the United States and spent his teenage years in Okinawa. After attending Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL, the artist became a private student and assistant to Mr. Leslie Posey, a nationally acclaimed sculptor and ornamentalist.
During the late 1970s Mark studied design in nature and the human form, ornamental architecture, casting and mold-making using the traditional methods. In the early 1980s he worked and studied under Ted Nightwine, the chief conservator of the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, learning framework restoration. A twist of fate led him to Hagenbeck/Wallace Inc., the company that designs and builds props for the Ringling Brothers Circus and Disney Ice Shows.
The mountains have lured the artist by way of their power and beauty, and the Henrys now live in Weaverville, NC. Along with his love of painting, Mark also teaches several times a year at various schools and workshops, and is presently designing and crafting his own frames for his paintings. Mark's work in pastel and oil is represented in galleries in North Carolina and Georgia as well as numerous private collections in the United States and abroad.
Sign up for one of Mark Henry's Fundamental Drawing or Fundamental Painting courses for Fall 2011 at The Fine Arts League of the Carolinas. See more at: www.FineArtsLeague.Org Mark Henry's work can also be seen and purchased at 16 Patton Fine Art Gallery in the Grove Arcade.
